CULLMAN, Ala. – When Ashley Wilson opened Curt’s Closet, a boutique-style clothing and accessory ministry for children and families in need, she did not imagine that, in three years’ time, the operation would outgrow its home on St. Joseph Street and need to relocate in order to keep up with both demand and an outpouring of support- and donations- from across the Cullman community, much less that she would be able to make that move when the time came. Well, that has recently changed.
On Thursday, April 29, 2021, Wilson will welcome clients to “shop” (still for free, of course) at the new and greatly expanded Curt’s Closet facility at 1103 3rd Ave. SE in Cullman. The new headquarters has a familiar-looking boutique room, but that is where the similarities end. The building is home to substantially more storage space, a huge sorting room, laundry room capable of holding two sets of washers and dryers, a small kitchen, upstairs boardroom and an office which Wilson said is roughly five times the size of the old one at the St. Joseph location. Adjacent to the shop is a warehouse building that will hold offseason items and allow the charity to store all inventory on the premises.
When asked what prompted the move, Wilson told The Tribune, “God! Well, we definitely needed more room, and this accommodates all of our needs right now and we have room to grow. But it was definitely a God thing. We were not looking for a building at the time; we had just talked about it and prayed about it. And St. John’s reached out to us about, first of all, renting it. And then, after going over those terms, we also talked about purchasing, and it was a better deal for us in the long run. So that’s how we came upon this wonderful building, and we’re so excited!”
What’s next?
Wilson said that, with a new facility that can hold more goods to help more people, her next goal is to make the ministry a full-time job for herself.
Said Wilson, “I’m constantly having to leave work or come after work to gather items for a family in emergency need. We also serve so many families, it’s hard to get in. Right now, there’s like a month wait to get in. So if we could just have someone here full-time, if it’s not seeing a family, it’s going through donations, which is a huge blessing. We’re always blessed with donations; that’s a good problem to have!”
What does Curt’s Closet need right now?
“We need volunteers,” said Wilson. “Since we have not been open (during the move), we’re not critically short on anything, but clothing donations are always welcome. So, if you can donate clothes-wise, your time, financially-–we have a few monthly donors, and that’s a huge blessing to us because we do have bills . . . Anything you can give, even if it’s just prayers, we will take it, right now!”
For more information about services or making donations, visit https://www.facebook.com/cw20curtscloset/.
Look for photos and a video walk-through of the new Curt’s Closet facility on The Tribune’s Facebook page.
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